


Sword Play

by deacertes



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Drabble, Kissing, M/M, Not Beta Read, Swords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26049982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deacertes/pseuds/deacertes
Summary: Nile asks the question - why do you guys still carry swords?
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 13
Kudos: 204





	Sword Play

“Why do you still carry swords?” Nile asks. “I mean, a knife I get, but a sword?”

Nicky looks up from where he is sitting cleaning his blade. “For Joe and I they serve as a reminder. They tie us to our past and travel with us through our lives. We have had many years to hone our skills. Also, they are really useful when you run out of bullets.”

Nile rolls her eyes at his grin. 

Joe joins them, grabbing his discarded top to wipe the sweat off his face and torso. His expression says he wants to be let in on their amusement.

“Nile was asking why we still carry our swords.”

“You can run out of bullets pretty quickly in a fight.”

“Yeah, I heard,” Nile says, suppressing another eye roll.

“Also, that they remind us of who we were and who we are,” says Nicky, softly.

Joe leans down for a quick kiss. “Do you want to spar?”

Nicky nods and stands up, pulling off his hoodie.

“How have you held onto them all this time?” Nile wonders aloud. 

“We haven’t. This is my third scimitar,” says Joe, twirling it in his wrist expertly.

“Fourth,” Nicky corrects. “You lost one in San Francisco.”

Joe mutters something about fucking earthquakes and wanders out into the centre of the courtyard.

“What about you,” Nile asks.

“This style became popular sometime in the 15th Century, I think,” Nicky muses. He looks over at Joe, who nods in confirmation. “I liked it and so I kept it. But if you’re asking how many, this is my ninth.”

“He forgets where he puts them,” says Joe, with a smile. 

“I don’t forget,” Nicky denies. “They’re safe. Somewhere.” 

He moves out into the courtyard to join Joe, and Nile forgets everything else for a while as she sits and watches them. It’s abundantly clear they’re both highly skilled, and it’s equally clear how well they know each other’s moves. They counter every lunge and parry, only very occasionally scoring a hit with the flat side of a blade. 

Nicky has the greater reach. His actions appear more measured, performing counterattacks in the form of deadly lunges and sweeping arcs, but he is deceptively fast, and he also comes in close on occasion, drawing his sword up tight against his body.

Joe is faster still and strikes and slashes in a blur of motion. 

Nile is still wondering who will win when the pair lock swords, their bodies pressing against one another, and suddenly the mood shifts. 

They stare into one another’s eyes for the space of several heartbeats, and then Nile groans loudly in protest as they come together in a clinch of entirely different kind.

“Seriously guys. Don’t you ever stop?” she asks, already getting up to walk away. 

She glances back over her shoulder just the once, her expression softening into a fond smile before she quickens her pace.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a degree in history, but this era is not one that I have studied extensively, so please take this as it's meant, a light hearted drabble.


End file.
